Watch hair-spring stud



(No Model.)

L. ABBY.

WATCH HAIR SPRING STUD.

No. 384,668. Patented June 19, 1888.

77 J' zes5es: 1701 6703 7 N PETERS. Phnminhogmphcr. Wash-gum u c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEO ABBY, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

WATCH HAlR-SPRlNG STUD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 386M568, dated 19,1888.

Serial No. 260,341. (Yo model.)

To aZZ'whom it" may concern:

Be it known that l, LEO AEBY, a citizen of the United States, residingat Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Hair-Spring Studs for W'a-tches;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Myinven tion relates to that class of watches or other time-keepers inwhich the well-known balance or hair spring is employed; and the objectof my said invention is to provide a simple, durable, and efficientconstruction and arrangement of parts, whereby the balance or hairspring and its stud may be readily displaced for the purposes ofrepairing and cleaning,&c., and as readily and easily replaced inposition for work, thus dispensing with the usual labor of readj ustingthe spring for length and tension and avoiding the inaccuracy usuallyconsequent upon reassembling such parts in watches or other timekeepersof this class as hereto fore constructed.

Previous to my invention it has been customary to key balance or hairsprings to arms or studs rigidly connected to the balance-bridges ofwatches or to the framesof clocks; so, therefore, in order to releasethe springs,it was necessary to withdraw the keys, and to return thesprings they had to be again keyed in place, which, to get them back intheir normal positions, was a diflicult and unhandy operation, andresulted in considerable inaccuracy of ad justment of the parts, sinceit was practically impossible to accurately locate the springs in theiroriginal positions; also, prior to my invention projecting tubes orsockets have been rigidly secured to the frame-work of clocks forreceiving and adjusting spring-holding studs; but these sockets or tubeshave been found unsatisfactory in practice, in that they were liable tobecome broken or detached from their supports and insecurel y held thespring-studs in place, the latter being cylindrical in form and held insaid tubes by ordinary set-screws pressing upon their peripheries; also,prior to my invention spring-holding studs have been formed withprismatic upper ends fitted into correspondingly shaped holes in thebalancebridges of watches and held by set-screws; but this constructionnecessitates the formation of prismatic holes in the balance-bridges,which is a difficult and time consuming operation, and, also, theinsertion of the ends of such studs into such holes is difficult toeffect, thus rendering the manufacture of these parts of a watchexpensive and inexpedient. To oven come these defectsin former devicesof the kind in question is the design of my present invention, whichwill be first fully described in connection with the drawings, and thendefinitely pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings,wherein the same referenceletters indicate the sameparts, Figure 1 represents a broken perspective view of a balancebridgewith my improved hair-spring stud in position therein; Fig. 2, a planview of thebalance-bridge, showing the regulator and hairspring stud inoperative position; and Fig. 3,

a transverse section of the same on the dotted line as a: of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, A represents a balancebridge formed with an annularstud hole or bearing, a; B, a cylindrical stud fitted in said hole orbearing and formed with a vertical,angular, or V-shaped groove, I); O, asetscrew tapped into the side of the balance-bridge, radially withrespect to the stud hole or bearing, and provided with a conical pointadapted to fit into said angular or ti-shaped groove in the stud, and Dthehairspring orpart of thesame. The stud B also provided with a collet,1), adapted to rest against the under side of the balanccbridge, andthus insure the retention of the hair-spring at a uniform distance therefrom. I

The operation of the parts is obvious, but may be briefly stated asfollows: The hairspring D is fastened to the stud by a pin or key in theordinary manner. The said stud is firmly held in place in the bridge Aby the screw G, pressing the same against the sides of the hole orbearing a, in which it is fitted. When it is desired to remove thehairspring for repairing, adjusting, cleaning, or other purpose, thescrew is loosened, the stud released, and the latter then removed fromthe bridge. To restore the parts to their-original positions,

the stud is first reinserted in the hole orbearing in the bridge, andthe screw is then turned until its conical point enters between andforcibly presses against the sides of the vertical, angular, or V-shapedgroove in said stud. In this manner compactness of parts is secured, thebearing for the stud does not project beyond the face of the bridge, andthe groove in the stud permits the conical point of the screw to holdsaid stud and the spring connected thereto in an unyielding manner, andalso allows them to be restored to their exact original positions afterremoval.

It will be evident from the foregoing that with this construction thespring-supporting stud may be inserted into thehole with comparativeease, and that the conical end of the set screw will bring said studinto its proper registering position when it is screwedin, even if itspoint only touches one side of the V-shaped groove.

It is obvious that minor modifications in the form and location of theparts of my invention can be made without departing from the principlethereof. As constructed it is simple, in-

expensive to manufacture, easy to be located, affords a firm andunyielding bearing for the hairspring-supporting stud, is not liable tobreakage or disarrangement,and requires very little change in thearrangement of parts to be used in watches or other timekeepers as nowconstructed.

Having thus fully described the construction, operation, and advantagesof my invention, what I claim as new is- In a watch, the combination ofa balancebridge formed with an annular hole orbearing, a cylindricalhair-spring-supporting stud provided with a collet anda verticalV-shaped groove, and a set-screw tapped through the side of saidbalance-bridge and provided with a conical point adapted to fit withinsaid V- shaped groove, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

LEO AEBY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES WILLIS WARD, J. ALFRED AEBY.

